"We believe this is in the best interests of Papua New Guinea and our shareholders."

Puma's PNG Manager Ray Taylor says the company plans to expand the refinery and grow its distribution network.

Mr Taylor says PNG's deepwater ports offer potential for it to grow as a supplier to the Pacific and even northern Australia.

"PNG obviously has the growth aspects to the market here, we've already seen significant LNG development and there's more to come," he told Pacific Beat.

"There's a lot of minerals in the ground and therefore we see this as a good growth market for the group, but also from a regional sense, PNG is blessed with some deep water ports which are ideal for bringing product and breaking bulk and supplying the greater Pacific and even northern Australia so for us it's an important part in the regional supply pattern."

Mr Taylor says there will be no job cuts in the transition.

"For just about everybody it means no change, we bought the companies therefore the terms and conditions remain as they are," he said.

Mr Taylor says Puma's purchase of the refinery and subsequent breaking of InterOil's monopoly of the PNG fuel market may not necessarily push down heavily regulated petrol prices.

He says while the majority of sale will be into the PNG market, the company would look at selling in the greater Pacific.

"It's about selling into the PNG market but allowing in some cases the import of product from overseas that we can use as a set of bulk-breaking operations to supply smaller markets nearby, but predominately what we'll be doing here is investing in the refinery for supply into the PNG market."

Mr Taylor says the refinery has high capacity, with yields of up to 36,000 barrels per day, and says Puma will consider the potential to expand and further develop the refinery.